Bowable ice tray grid with preflexed cross walls



p 1954 R. L. HALLOCK 2,674,860

BOWABLE ICE TRAY GRID WITH PREFLEXED CROSS WALLS Filed April 28, 1950 2Sheets-Sheet l w k: z; 4 Y: 22'

y #2 ig r INVENTOR. 2298' April 13, 1954 HALLOCK- BOWABLE ICE TRAY GRIDWITH PREFLEXED CROSS WALLS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 28, 1950INVENTOR. f; m 4

Patented Apr. 13, 1954 BOWABLE ICE T I PREFLEXED My invention relates toimprovements in ice tray grids that are distortable to release icepieces, and more particularly grids that have resilient walls and whichare bowable. A grid of this type is illustrated and described in myPatent No. 2,378,845 granted June 19, 1945.

The objects of the invention are to provide a grid of this type that issimpler and easier to construct and simpler and easier to operate.

This application replaces and relates back for common subject matter tomy application S. N.

"98,580 filed February 26, 1949, which is now abandoned. 1

'Novel features that characterize this invention are resilient wallsheld in fiexure while ice is being formed, and then un flexed to loosenice attached thereto; a backbone, otherwise known as a center orlongitudinal wall, fashioned from a single sheet of material in such amanner that it is bowable in its own plane; and members for bowing thegrid, at least one of which is bowable with the grid.

These and otherfeatures of the invention, together with the advantageswhich they aiford, appear in the following description and accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan of an ice freezing tray and grid embodying theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail section of a portion of Fig. 9;

Fig. 4 is a similar detail section of Fig. 10;

Fig. 5 is a detail partly in section showing a part of the grid referredto asa stop strap;

Fig. 6 is a detail section of another portion of Fig.

Fig. 7 is a detail section of another portion of Fig. 8;

Fig. 8 is an exploded plan of two pieces in Fig.

Fig. 9 is an elevation of the grid as illustrated in Fig. 1 with the icetray in section;

Fig. 10 is a view like Fig. 9 showing the grid operated and removed fromthe tray; and

Fig. 11 is an elevation of thecenter wall or longitudinal partitiononly.

As seen in Figs. 1, 9 and 10, the ice tray grid is composed essentiallyof a center or longitudinal wall member or partition and a number ofcross walls or partitions which intersect the center wall and formtherewith a plurality of cells arranged in two rows. Operating membersare provided to how the grid, as shown in Fig. 10. to effect release ofice pieces formed in the cells.

The center or longitudinal wall is fashioned from a single sheet ofmaterial to the configura- 1 RAY GRID WITH CROSS WALLS Robert LayHallock, Larchmont, N. Y. Application April 28, 1950, Serial No. 158,77315 Claims. (01. 62-1085) tion illustrated in Fig. 11. The material maybe sheet metal or plastic sheet. 61'ST8 aluminum sheet .051" inthickness, or 52811 aluminum sheet .060" in thickness has been foundsatisfactory. The wall strip It has a row of slits or slots near thebottom edge comprising a series of slots l l and an alternate series oflonger slots [2. Each of the shorter slots H has a, curved slot l3connecting it to the top edge of the strip H3. Each of the longer slotsI2 is connected by a cut M to a respective upright slot [3. This leavesas the only section running the full length of the strip ID a ribbon l5at the bottom of the wall.

At the top end of each of the upright slots it there are lugs or ears ortabs, one on each side of the slot. These are numbered I 6 to 2'!inclusive and are of several shapes and sizes for purposes that appearbelow. The left end of the strip H3, as seen in Fig. 11, projects upwardto form a section 28 provided with a hole 29 and a lug 36 which projectstoward the lug It. On the right hand end of the strip It there are twosmall upward projecting lugs 3i and 32. The wall strip It as justdescribed and as illustrated in Fig. 11 is formed by one pressoperation.

The cross webs or wall sections 33 which intersect the center wall Itcan be seen in elevation in Fig. 2, top view in Fig. 1, edge view inFigs. 9 and 1'0, and center section in Figs. 3, 4, and 6. Each crosswall 33 is shaped, as seen in Fig. 2, to conform generally to the crosssection of the tray 34. At the top center of each cross wall 33 thereare two portions '35 and 36 projecting toward each other over a squatT-slot having a lower portion 31 and an upper portion 38. At the bottomcenter of each wall piece 33 there is a notch 39. A lip 40 is struck outof each cross partition 33 just above the notch 39. A shallowcorrugation l! is formed in each cross wall 33 below and generallyparallel to its upper edge. The cross walls 33 are formed by a pressoperation and may be madeof GIST sheet aluminum .032" in thickness.

A cross wall 33 is inserted in each of the slots is in the center wallE0. The notches 39 at the bottom of the cross pieces 33' straddle theribbon 15 at the bottom of the longitudinal partition Ill. The lips 46hook under the center piece at the top of the slots I l, asseen in Fig.3.

Referring now to Fig. 5, a small metal strip 4: has two aligned slots 42and 43. These slots are spaced from each other a distance equal to thedistance between the ears 2| and 22 on the center wall ID. The slot d2receives the ears 2G and 2E, and the slot 43 receives the ears 22 and23. These slots are just long enough to permit the ears to spread apartfrom their positions in Fig. 3 to their positions in Fig. 4. The strip4% lies in the lower portions 32' of the T-slots in the two center crossWalls 33. As seen in Figs. 9 and 10, another similar strip A l is in thesame manner associated with the two cross walls 33 at the right hand endof the grid and its two slots engage respectively the ears 24 and 25 andthe ears 26 and 2?. Another slightly longer strip 45 is associated withthe two left hand cross walls 33 and engages in one slot the ears l6 andil and in the other slot the ears I8 and 15. The left hand end of thestrip 45 is so slotted as to straddle the upstanding section 28 of thecenter wall it as seen in Fig. 6.

A long strip 45 overlies the top of the center wall l and is located inthe upper portions 38 of the T-slots in the cross walls 33. As bestseenin Fig. 1, the long strip 15 is suitably notched to permit insertion ofthis strip in the slotted-cross walls. The right hand end of the strip.5 is provided with a slot dimensioned to receive the ear or lug 3! nearthe right hand. endrof thecenter wall 16. The strip it abuts the lug 32at the right hand end of the center wall [5, and the lug 31 is peenedover to fasten this end of the strip in place. The strip 45 has twoslots a? and :8 which receive the ears 23 and as of the center Wall H),and two other similar slots 59 and a which receive the ears Ill and 215as seen in Figs. 9 and 10. The left hand end of the strip is fashionedas a knob 51 as seen in Figs. 7 and. 8. The slots 45 and 50 are alsoseen in Fig. 8.,

The short strips Ill, 34 and 45, called stop straps, may be made of szsnaluminum sheet .09 in thickness. The long strip 55, called a thrust bar,may be made of 5281-1 aluminum sheet .06 in thickness. The stop strapsfit nicely in the portions 3 of the cross wall T-slots, and thereby aidin preventing wobble of the cross walls relative to the center wall.

Referring to Figs. 9 and, 10, and more particularly Figs. 6, '7, and 8.the knob 5! at the left hand end of the thrust bar $5 is designed to beengaged by a U-strap 52 which is formed with a notch 53 at its closedend to receive the shank of the knob 55!. The legs of the U-stra-p 52are pivotably connected by pins 54 and 55 to the forked ends of a handle56. Two fingers 5! and 58 project downward from the legs of the strap 52and curve forward and inward, so that the ends of these fingers engagebeneath the stop strap 45 on each side of the center wall H). TheU-strap 52, generally referred to as a yoke, may be formed of 528Ealuminum sheet, .06" in thickness.

The handle 55 may be formed of like material to the shape seen in Figs.1, 6, 7, 9 and 10, The pins Hand 55 which pivot the yoke 5.2 to thehandle 55 project through both flanges of the,

handle forks. These forks are located astride the upward projectingportion 28 at the left hand end of the center wall Ill. The innerflanges 59 and Eli of the handle forks are journaled on a pin 61 whichprojects through the hole 29 in the center wall. The outer flanges ofthe handle 56 are provided with openings 52 and 53 to permit insertionof the pin 6! upon assembly. The openings 62 and 63 uncover the pin 5!or the holes for this pin when the handle 56 is about in the positionillustrated in Fig. 10. The several pins may be 173T aluminum rivets.The

rivets 54 and 55 should be about /8 in diameter and the rivet 6iconsiderably larger in diameter, at least The various parts of the grid,except the rivets,

M, M and are above and the, thrust bar 45 are made by blanking andforming press operations. To assemble a grid, six cross walls 33 areforced downward in the upright curved slots 13 in the center wall [0until the lips 49 snap into place in the slots II. All of th cross wallsmay be the same, or one cross wall like that shown second from the rightin Figs. 1, 9 and 10 may have upward projections 65 and 65 for thepurpose of providing, together with the handle 55, a stable support forstacking another tray on top of the grid. Then the stop straps placed inposition as described also located in its above described position. Thehandle and th yoke 52 are assembled by means of the rivets 54 and 55.Then the yoke 52 is engaged with the knob. 5lon the end of the thrustbar 48, and the handle located astride the upward projection 23 on thecenter wall Ill. The handle is held in a position about like that inFig. 10 so that therivet 5| can be located by manipulation through theho1es62=and 6-3 in the handle. Then the fingers 51 and 58 ar bent inwardto engage beneath the stop strap 45. When the handle 55'is turned toitsposition shown in Figs. 1 and 9, the grid is closed and ready for use inthe tray 34.

When using 52SHaluminum for the center wall and stop straps, it isdesirable to provide a small piece 56 of 618T aluminum in the handle endof the slot in the stop strap 45 in front ofthecar It. This filler piece68 can be seen in Fig; 6--

and is in the shape of a small inverted: T with the leg projectingupward in the slotin the-strap -infront of the center wallear i6.The-purpose is to decrease wear at this point.

It also has been found desirable to provide small shoes on the crosswall projections 35and 35 above the thrust bar d6. These small shoes 5,?and'68 onthe projections 35 and 36 respectively, seeFigs. 2, 3, and 4,are formedby turn-- ing short horizontal projections from the loweredges of the projections 35 :and 38.

Another feature that has been found desirable is a light frictionalengagement between the handle 55 and another part ofthe grid such as,for-example, the forward end of the stop strap" 45. This is accomplishedby shaping the inside pair of downward flanges-ligand E0 on the handle:to

r rub on the forks li and '10 ofthe strip 45 as seen rugations may beprovided.

9. The purpose is to dampen any grid is manipulated withthe togglearrangement. The center wall 15 is straight and the resilient crosswalls 33 ar held in flexure. It can be seen in Figs. 1, 3, and 9 thatthe cross walls 33 are curved from: top to bottom. Although I have shownone corrugation H on each cross wall, several such cor- The purpose isto distribute'toward; the outer ends of the-cross walls the curvedfiexure imparted to each cross wall at its center by the center wall 10.

Assume that the tray 34 has been'filled' with water and the water frozentoiee so that the tray 34 contains a block of ice with the grid"embeddedv therein; When it is desired to obtain ice pieces,the-hand1e-55 is pulled'toward the position shown in Figs.pinss.5fiiand;55 to rotate-"around the'larger' pin Sand 10. This urgesthe 6| and exert pressure on theyoke 52 and the thrust bar 46. Thisforce is transmitted through the thrust bar to the far end of the gridso that the ends of the grid are urged away from each other, causing thecenter wall Ill to try to bow upward in the middle and the slots 13spread apart. The cross walls 33 try to straighten and unflex towardtheir flat positions illustrated in Figs. 4, 6, and 10. It can now beseen that the Walls 33 could be normally curved and the slots l3straight to aiford the same effect. That is,

the cross walls could be under flexure when straight, and unflex towardtheir curved positions. As the grid bows, the thrust bar 45'also bowssince it is confined within the slots in the tops of the cross walls 33.As the sections of the center wall between the slots I3 try to fan out,and the cross walls 33 try to flatten, the adhesion of the ice to thegrid walls and the tray walls is overcome and there results a gridfilled with loose ice pieces. The grid containing the loose ice cubescan be lifted from the tray 34. One or more of the corner cubes may fallout of the grid but the others stay in the grid to be picked on" inwhatever number they are desired. Ice cubes not removedfrom the grid canbe returned to the tray without handling of the cubes.

The distance the upper ends of the center wall slots I3 spread apart islimited by the several stop straps 4!, 44 and 45.

that they can be provided in various forms. The requirement is linkageto limit the distance that the ears at the upper ends of the center wallslots l3 move apart when the center wall is bowed upward.

The series of slots I! and I2 aligned generally lengthwise of the centerwall l0, together with the upright slots 835, permit this wall to beflexed in its own flat plane. The cuts It also fan out when this wall isflexed. The degree of separa tion at the cuts M is a function of thelength and location of the slots I2. The wall separation at the cuts I4upon operation of the grid introduces forces tending to aid in breakingice bonds on the center wall.

Various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

'1. An ice tray grid having a series of resilient I transverse walls,parts including a longitudinal wall member intersecting said series oftransverse walls and holding the latter in flexure, said parts beingmovable to unflex said walls to loosen ice attached thereto.

2. An ice tray grid having a series of resilient walls, a distortablelongitudinal wall member intersecting said series to form a plurality ofcells, said longitudinal wall member being formed to hold said series ofwalls in flexure, and means operable to distort said longitudinal wallto unflex said series of walls to loosen ice in said cells.

3. An ice tray grid distortable to loosen ice pieces formed therein withlinkage operable to distort the grid and including a bendable thrustmember confined against buckling by engagement at a series of pointsalong its length with the grid, and means for applying a force in thrustto said member to distort the grid.

4. An ice tray grid flexible by opposite forces applied at its ends witha lever mounted on one end of the grid and a flexible member joining thelever to the other end of the grid and confined against buckling bysliding engagement at a series of points along its length with the grid.

This function of the I stop straps being understood, it will be seen 5.An ice tray grid having a longitudinal wall member and cross wallmembers associated therewith to form cells for freezing ice pieces, saidlongitudinal wall member comprising a single piece of materialinherently rigid in the plane of the wall'and so formed as to permitbowing in the plane of the wall.

6. An ice tray grid having a series of cross walls intersected by acenter wall with the latter formed from a single strip of materialhaving a series of upright slots in which the cross walls are locatedand a series of aligned slots generally parallel to an edge of thecenter wall permitting bowing of the wall in its own plane.

7. A grid for an "ice tray comprising a center wall formed of a singlestrip of material having a series of parallel slots each open at the topedge of the wall and projecting in an are downward to a point in thelower part of the wall and also having a second series of aligned slotsgenerally parallel to the bottom edge of the wall and intersecting thelower ends of said first series of slots, a series of resilient crosswalls each held in flexure in one of said first series of slots andnotched at the bottom to straddle the lower part of the center wall, aseries of stop links joining adjacent portions of said center wall atthe upper ends of said first series of slots, said links also engagingsaid cross walls, and means operable to bow said center wall in its ownplane and thereby spread said first series of slots to the extentpermitted by said links to unflex said cross Walls.

8. A flexible ice tray grid with a series of cross walls intersected bya center wall formed of a single piece of material having sectionsbetween the cross walls which fan out when the grid is flexed and linksengaging the center wall sections in a manner to limit the extent ofseparation and also engaging the cross walls in a manner to preventwobbling' of the latter with respect to the center wall.

9. An ice tray grid having a series of cross walls intersected by acenter wall with the latter formed from a single sheet of materialhaving a series of upright slots in which the cross walls are locatedand a second series of slots arranged to permit bowing of the centerwall in its own plane and with links engaging both the center wall andthe cross walls in a manner to limit the extent of bowing of the centerwall and hold the cross walls perpendicular to the center wall.

10. An ice tray grid with a resilient wall intersecting a second wallformed to hold the resilient wall in flexure during formation of ice inthe grid, said second wall being distortable to unflex the resilientwall to eifect release of the we.

11. An ice tray grid with a resilient wall and mechanism to flex andunflex said wall, said mechanism including a handle and linkage whichlooks the wall in flexure during formation of ice in the grid.

12. An ice tray grid with a flexible wall intersecting a seconddistortable wall so formed as to flex the flexible wall when notdistorted, and mechanism including a handle and linkage which restrainssaid second wall from distortion during formation of ice in the grid,said mechanism being operable by its handle to distort said second wallto unflex the flexible wall to effect release of the ice.

13. An ice tray grid having a series of cross walls and a center wallformed from a strip of material inherently rigid in the plane of thewall aenseo 7: andfhavingsravseries. of:slots arranged t0 permit bowing:of the wall its own plane;

14: An ice traygridas set forth in claim 13- in which'the cross' wallsare located in some of said'slots, the othersof said slots being.located between said cross walls topromote release of ice from thecenter wall by spreading upon howing of the wall.

15. An ice tray grid having a one-piece wall formed of inherently rigidmaterial and slotted Number Name Date Re. 21,226 Reeves Oct. 3, 19392,009,803 Hallock July 30, 1935 Numben Name 7 Date Chilton Jan. 5, 1937-Geyer May 25, 1937 Lutz' May 24, 1938' Steenstrup Jan. 30, 1940 MinerMar. 12, 1940 Shoemaker Apr. 9, 1940 Jacobs Aug. 26, 1941 Andersson July29, 1942 Haugh et al Dec. 1, 1942- Kleen -1 Feb. 29, 1944 Miller Feb.29, 1944 Hallock June 19, 1945 Saler Oct. 2, 1945 Roche Oct. 11, 1949Saler Dec. 13,1949 Buchanan Feb. 7, 1950' Storer June 26, 1951

